Verizon executive Elise Neel recently experienced the speed of 5G when she jumped into the path of a robot on wheels.
Neel did this at one of Verizon Communications Inc.'s research and development facilities, where the communications giant was testing robots connected to a 5G network for use in warehousing and distribution. When Neel got in the way of the self-driving robot, it stopped right away, she told Orlando Inno.
"This means it triggers an alarm to say, 'Whoa, we have an obstacle in our path. We're either going to need to stop or maneuver around it,' and then to decide the alternative path so it can continue safely around me by understanding this friendly relationship between human and machine. It's something I never would trust to a Wi-Fi network, and I really never even would trust over 4G, because that bandwidth isn't there."
This is an example of how New York-based Verizon is helping businesses test ways to use 5G, the latest iteration of broadband network technology. Central Florida businesses soon will have a way to experiment with the ultra-fast speeds of 5G after the Verizon 5G Innovation Hub has its grand opening in Lake Nona on Nov. 4.
A collaboration between Verizon and Lake Nona master developer Tavistock Development Co., the 5G hub will share a 16,000-square-foot innovation space in Lake Nona with the Lead Sports business accelerator.
Lake Nona’s 5G innovation lab will be the latest launched by Verizon, which operates seven other 5G labs in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
Neel, Verizon's senior vice president of new business incubation, will make her first visit to Lake Nona next week when she takes part in a panel discussion at the 5G Innovation Hub open house on Nov. 4.
Here, she discusses how local businesses can get involved with the 5G hub and how they can benefit from it:
Why did Verizon target Lake Nona for this 5G Innovation Hub? The citizen scientists, the residents of the community, the visitors, all of the national headquarters there, the health care facilities — it really does provide this ideal landscape for all of these innovators to come together to help imagine the world that will be as we think about the 5G future.
What are some ways you see 5G boosting Orlando businesses? There are so many use cases when we think about consumer applications in sports, the ability to be almost on the field with NFL players to see a wide variety of camera angles with augmented reality overlays that all of the sudden the game is being brought to you in a multi-dimensional way versus sitting back on your couch with popcorn and a soda and watching the game from a two-dimensional experience. These are fundamental shifts in the engagement models, not just for our consumers, but also for businesses.
Is this initiative a collaboration between Verizon and Tavistock, and what role does Verizon play in the operation of the hub? That innovation hub and facility is fully powered and funded by Verizon, but in very close partnership with the Tavistock Group. As we think about those expendable use cases, whether it be the autonomous vehicles, the drones that will fly, the robotics components, the health care use cases — as we look to equip those facilities with next-generation Internet of Things and 5G solutions, that partnership is a pretty tight one.
How can companies get involved with the Innovation Hub? The first step is educating yourself and understanding it, particularly for those innovators, startups and entrepreneurs to say, "Is there something in it for me that I can benefit from materially?" For those in the startup community, those who are entrepreneurs and are thinking about how to work alongside others in society in frontier technology, we have a wide range of programs that allow those innovators to come and partner with us.
What's next for Verizon's innovation presence in Orlando? We're just beginning. While we have a wide array of use cases, test cases and live implementations, we're really at the beginning of what we see to be an incredible journey. We don't have all of the ideas yet. This is an innovator's Disney World.
Contact point
To learn more about Verizon's 5G labs, visit its website. To learn how to get involved with the Lake Nona 5G Innovation Hub, email lakenonainformation@verizon.com.
Sign up here for The Beat, Orlando Inno’s free newsletter. And be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
